The Third Study - The Archdevil Lucifeles (3)
The archdevil was certain the mage would not refuse his invitation. Devils were beings bound by contracts. Breaking one’s own oath would deal a severe blow to their very existence.
‘That is why we can never harm those we invite as [guests]. The customs of hospitality are traditions that hold even in the Seven Hells.’
However.
Hell was still hell.
A realm that existed solely to plunge humans into despair!
‘But I wonder—after receiving the [hospitality] I’ve prepared, will you truly remain sane? Of course, you’ll probably arrogantly insist that you can!’
Arrogance was the chronic disease of mages and geniuses alike. Countless genius mages had met their ruin by overestimating their own abilities.
“I shall accept your invitation.”
As expected.
This one was no different!
“Excellent! Then I shall open a portal to Gehenna. I’ve even composed an opera just for you, so look forward to it, my friend!”
Lucifeles boasted about his opera in an excited voice. Yet Tellorian merely tilted his head with a sullen expression.
“I have no plans to visit this year.”
“You promised a return visit, didn’t you?”
“I never specified when.”
A faint smile.
The mage gave a mysterious little grin.
“Three hundred years is nothing more than a fleeting moment, isn’t it? Whether I visit three minutes from now or thirty years from now, it makes no difference. I will visit Gehenna once I’ve completed sufficient training to endure the hospitality of hell.”
Victory in wordplay against a devil!
Experience +20
Lore Point +1
Level up!
0/100 until Level 14
Lore Points: 15
“…Huh?”
“Pay up. Triple the brokerage fee.”
“But…”
“You promised to pay the reward immediately upon accepting the invitation. Are you thinking of breaking that promise?”
The devil’s face twisted.
His carefully crafted deception was crumbling.
“As expected, half-breeds are easy to fool.”
“How dare a mere mortal—!”
His pride had been shattered after being toyed with by a mortal. On top of that, his complex had been provoked. Lucifeles unleashed his fury through overwhelming demonic power. The air in the banquet hall vibrated, and the tableware shattered into pieces.
“Mortal!”
Lucifeles’s skin turned crimson as his height doubled. Wings burst from his shoulders, horns sprouted from his forehead, and his power shook the surroundings.
“Behold and worship true power! I am the great Archduke Lucifeles who rules Gehenna!”
Lucifeles’s true form carried an overwhelming presence capable of crushing any human. An ordinary mage would have fainted or prostrated themselves the moment they saw it.
“…Interesting.”
But a Lore Master was a mortal sage versed in all things. Even when faced with a transcendent being, he only burned with curiosity.
“So this is the presence a Transcendent emits.”
Acquired lore regarding Transcendents!
Experience +20
Lore Point +2
20/100 until Level 14
Lore Points: 17
“If you’re trying to intimidate me, you’re mistaken.”
“…”
“Lore Masters acquire every kind of lore. Ancient lore. New lore. Blasphemous lore. Sacred lore. Even forgotten lore.”
Vast amounts of lore became the material for new insights, and once those insights accumulated, they led to wisdom.
“Thanks to that, we learn this: you Transcendents have your soul’s color fixed from the moment of your birth. Because of that, your actual potential is extremely limited.”
Angels and devils were inherently far stronger than mortals. But they could not create anything new. They possessed innate power, yet they could not accumulate experience to level up.
“You are good because you were born angels, and evil because you were born devils. So what are you devils, exactly? Beings born from wicked emotions, raised only to witness endless malice.”
Moreover.
The true nature of evil was fleeting misery.
“…Evil is nothing more than a byproduct born from ignorance and hunger, a dreg that grows by feeding on fear. So what is a being that can do nothing but commit evil? A pitiful creature that suffers from ignorance and hunger its entire life, forever tormented by fear.”
To Tellorian, devils were not strong at all. They were simply ridiculous and pathetic—creatures desperately trying to appear strong and terrifying.
“You will pay for your insolent tongue—”
“Your mother is still alive, Lucifeles.”
Lucifeles froze, his outstretched claws halting mid-strike. It was due to an emotion he himself could not name.
“If you follow the path I present, I will tell you how to save her. I won’t call it an easy road. But it is a path worth walking.”
…The half-devil cambion could not understand why he had stopped his own claws. He wanted to kill this man. Even if it meant his own existence would be extinguished.
“The moment you accept, I will tell you her whereabouts.”
“…”
It was clearly another deception. Just as he lured human souls with contracts, this mage seemed to be stealing devils’ power through contracts.
“…What is your purpose in giving me advice?”
Even so.
He wanted to believe it.
How very like a half-breed devil.
“The complete destruction of the Seven Hells.”
“…What did you just say?”
“I desire the complete destruction of the Seven Hells.”
At first he thought it was a bad joke, but the mage’s eyes were far too serious. Then he thought the man must be insane, yet those eyes were far too clear.
“…What kind of nonsense is that?”
“To destroy the Seven Hells, many conditions must be met… but the most difficult one is obtaining complete control over the Seven Hells.”
The mage pointed at the cambion.
“But your existence has made things much simpler.”
“My existence?”
“It has become possible to seize control of the Seven Hells by putting you at the forefront. Completing the rest of the conditions won’t be that difficult.”
…Lucifeles’s expression became impossible to describe. Countless emotions stormed through him, throwing the Archduke of Gehenna into utter confusion.
“I will not cooperate with you, mage.”
“Why not?”
“I will definitely surpass my brothers and inherit the Seven Hells! I will not destroy it.”
Observed the cambion’s thought process!
Experience +10
Lore Point +1
30/100 until Level 14
Lore Points: 18
“So does your father actually die?”
“…?!”
“The ruler of hell, who lives forever, has no need for a successor. Since he will never retire or die, the succession struggle among his sons is nothing more than a game meant to entertain their father.”
A pure-blooded devil would have understood this from the moment of his birth. But because Lucifeles was a cambion mixed with finite human blood, he sometimes made the same mistakes mortals did.
“…”
“I’ll give you the first piece of advice.”
“…Fine.”
Lucifeles withdrew his power and returned to human form. The crushing pressure that had weighed down the entire area vanished, and an oriental nobleman appeared once more.
“Recognize the potential of a cambion.”
“…The potential of a cambion.”
“Half of you is devil, but the other half is human. Pure-blooded devils would call that a weakness, but I call it potential.”
Humans possessed possibilities that surpassed both devils and angels. If so, a cambion would surely possess possibilities that surpassed both devils and humans.
“I understand. I’ll think it over.”
“If you compete only through evil deeds, you will never be a match for your brothers. But if you also awaken your mother’s nobility, another possibility will emerge.”
Lucifeles waved his right hand, restoring the shattered tableware. The chaos returned to its original state.
“That was valuable advice, Lore Master Tellorian.”
“I’m glad it helped, Archduke of Gehenna.”
“I will return once I have internalized your advice. Stay healthy until then, my friend.”
Lucifeles walked out carrying a new hope. A plan to overwhelm his detestable brothers had come to mind.
“Wait.”
“If you have more advice, I will listen.”
“If you’ve received consultation, you must pay the consultation fee.”
“…Huh?”
Tellorian pulled a rolled-up receipt from his pocket. The base consultation fee was two months’ income. Overtime added six months. Since it had been customized advice that utilized secret lore, it was doubled… Every new item added caused the cost to increase exponentially.
“All together, that comes to ten years’ worth of income.”
“…You’re charging ten years for just a few words?!”
“I understand that from your perspective this may feel like an excessive cost. That’s why I’ve brought legal grounds for you. First, according to the customary commercial law of the Essil Kingdom…”
Tellorian summoned law books from his subspace—books that could be used as blunt weapons—and pressured him. Lucifeles hurriedly offered counterarguments.
“Devils are not bound by the laws of the surface!”
“Well. We did make the deal on the surface, didn’t we?”
“I never agreed to such a transaction!”
“However, according to the customary law of the Essil Kingdom, the moment you began listening to my advice, you are considered to have given implicit consent…”
Acquired lore regarding law!
Experience +10
Lore Point +1
40/100 until Level 14
Lore Points: 19
…Since Lucifeles did not know the surface world’s laws, he could not defend himself. Whenever Tellorian cited long, technical phrases, he had no choice but to surrender his rights. Any attempt to refute only caused the consultation fee to skyrocket.
“Enough! I will pay ten years’ income as the consultation fee!”
“What are you talking about? In truth, the consultation fee you must pay is twenty years’ income. The grounds for the increased fee are as follows…”
Now.
Who was the real devil here?
Successfully tricked the Archdevil with unfair contract terms!
Experience +20
Lore Point +2
60/100 until Level 14
Lore Points: 21